Papercuts and the Sunflower
by Prince Leon
Summary: Hitsugaya has had a long day of endless paperwork and is exhausted. He takes some time to contemplate his thoughts on the sleeping figure in his office. HitsugayaMatsumoto
1. My Hidden Love

**Disclaimer:** This is the duh factor. Bleach and none of its characters ain't mine. Look to Kubo Tite if you want the real owner.

There's no need need to worry about any spoilers in the manga/anime as far as I'm aware of here. Oh yeah there's some slight fluff too.

**Papercuts and the Sunflower  
**by Prince Leon

The sound of pen to paper could be heard throughout the room as the sun was preparing to make its last goodbyes before turning in for the night. The silver-haired boy was slouched over his desk with his chin resting in his hand as he scribbled away. His eyes were droopy and his movements were getting sluggish as he moved from line to line. Surely he was grumbling to himself for letting the paperwork of his division getting this out of hand.

He lazily threw his gaze over to the sofa in front of him to glare slightly at the sleeping figure that rested there. He thought to himself a bit about how he could've let her take on all of the paperwork that was near the ceiling this morning. Instead of slouching all over his desk today he could've been practicing the release of his ban kai or causing some trouble for the other shinigami by quickly changing the weather from a sunny day to rainy one. However, he knew that it was not possible to wake her from her silent slumber. He was used to seeing her rest there everyday ever since he became captain of the 10th Division and she had been allocated as his vice-captain. Most importantly that would mean waking up the sight of an angel…

Resting his pen on the desk, he shifted the few papers he had just finished to the side, placing his head on his folded arms. Glancing at the time the boy genius wondered why there was not that much activity today. None of the other captains or vice-captains had stopped by to relay anything of importance and none of his subordinates had run in without knocking stammering at the top of their voices about a skirmish they were having yet again with the low level shinigamis of the 3rd Division. "Bastards are probably sitting around in the lounge," he whispered as he looked at the little amount of paperwork still left to be done.

The boy genius once again darted his eyes over to his vice-captain still sleeping peacefully. He was used to seeing a few of her golden strands of hair draped across her face each time she laid down to rest in the office. It was almost impossible to not notice how she wriggled her nose when a strand rested upon it. This never ceased to give him a slight smirk each time his eyes caught the rare sight. Never did his eyes fail to see when she swiftly moistened her rosy pink lips with the tip of her tongue as she shifted her body around. There was also that beauty mark just below her lips that further complimented her already goddess-like appearance. His eyes, still innocent however, always pulled away violently when they would notice themselves trailing a path down her slender neck and over the necklace that she wore and to the valley of the cleavage between her ample breasts. "Dammit Matsumoto why do you…" he started as he accidentally slammed his clenched fist down onto his desk causing his vision of admiration to stir.

The blonde shifted her body to the side before placing her hand on the top of the sofa. She raised herself up into a sitting position and slowly opened her eyes, still filled with sleep. Her dark blue orbs found their way over to her captain who was already peering into them. She yawned as she stretched and then rubbed her eyes gently to rid herself of the last of the sleep.

"I thought you weren't ever going to wake up," the silver-haired boy breathed as he pushed himself back against his chair, with the usual expression of boredom on his face.

Matsumoto smiled slightly as she brushed away some of the wrinkles in her robe. "Good evening…Captain Hitsugaya." She was used to Hitsugaya's face always being the first one that she saw each and every time that she woke up and she never hid this fact each time she greeted him.

"You're lucky," the boy genius replied. "I was about to turn out the lights and leave you in here."

The beautiful blonde laughed softly as she held her stomach. "Don't be like that Captain. You know that this couch is too soft to resist."

"Heh," Hitsugaya answered as he placed his hands behind his head. "You use that excuse for your laziness every time."

She laughed once again as she pulled away some of her blonde locks away from her face not knowing that Hitsugaya was carefully observing the act. Through his bored expression it would seem as if he was just blankly staring, but the skip in the beat of his heart as he saw her pull away her locks said otherwise. Glancing back over at her captain, Matsumoto noticed his blank stare. "Is there something wrong captain?"

An expert at hiding everything he felt with that almost permanent expression of boredom on his face the young man blinked as he shifted his eyes on the papers left on his desk. "It's nothing. I'm really just dead tired."

Looking over at the large amount of papers in the outbox Matsumoto's eyes widened. "C-captain you did all of these already?" She arched her eyebrow in shock as she looked over at the few left in the inbox.

"Yeah. No thanks to you of course." Hitsugaya grunted as he grabbed the remaining work to be done and showed it to her. "These are for you to do."

Matsumoto was puzzled. 'He could've left the majority of them for me to complete and take the handful he has right now for himself to do,' she thought as she stood to her feet. 'I wonder why…"

"Well?" Hitsugaya said as he shook the papers in his hand. "Are you coming to get these or not?"

"Oh I'm sorry Captain," she replied as she blinked her eyes quickly to clear her mind.

She walked slowly toward his desk as he held out his hand to pass her the papers. Hitsugaya had every step of her graceful movements etched within his mind ever since they've been together as captain and vice-captain. He could never forget when he accidentally described her movements on one of the reports he was completing. He called her every step 'a series of the purest water ripples in Soul Society that only an angel such as her can emit'. Never will he forget how long it took him to explain to the captain of the 1st Division how the line of poetry had gotten there. The old man simply smiled at the boy and sent him away when he looked at Matsumoto who was waiting at the door outside.

"Um…captain," Matsumoto said softly as she tugged at the papers in his hand. "Aren't you going to let go?"

Hitsugaya snapped back into his mind and quickly released the sheets from his palm. "Oh I must've been daydreaming."

"You actually have daydreams captain?"

"What's that supposed to mean Matsumoto?"

Matsumoto smirked as she held the papers to her side. "You always look too bored to be interested in anything. I would've thought daydreaming would be the last thing a boy genius as yourself would be doing."

"Idiot," he muttered as he fought to keep open his eyes. The beauty of his vice-captain was too radiant to not be taken in as much as possible. She had always accompanied him to wherever he had been assigned to go to even when her duties as a vice-captain were not needed.

Still holding onto his desk the busty shinigami looked into the dreary eyes of her captain. "Captain you look really tired. You should rest on the couch."

"No thanks," he replied quickly as he yawned. "I don't want to catch any of your laziness."

Hitsugaya was fading quickly as he rested his head on his desk. He didn't notice when his vice captain had made her way behind his desk. He felt her arms encircle his waist and was lifted from his chair. "Hey Matsumoto…put me down," he stammered sleepily.

"You know captain," she started as she made her way over the green sofa. "You can call me Rangiku-chan like you did in that beautiful poem and when you're alone…"

Hitsugaya was stunned but still could not shrug off any of his exhaustion. He lazily thought about how she knew about the poem he wrote about her. He was too afraid to give it to her on White Day and decided to throw it into the waste basket next to her desk. 'Idiot!' he thought to himself as he felt himself being lowered onto the cushions below. 'Why'd you throw it in her trash bin fool?'

"I know you're surprised beneath that tired face," she said as she removed her pink scarf from around her shoulders and wrapped it around his own. "It was quite beautiful I must say for someone your age."

Hitsugaya was too tired to form the words he wanted to reply. 'It's not what you think!' he thought to himself as what he wanted to say. He now knew what she was speaking of when she said that the couch was extremely comfortable.

"I don't know why you threw it away but it was a good thing I noticed the blue colored paper crumpled up in my trash bin." She placed her right hand onto his chest and pulled together his shinigami robe so that he would be able to gather some warmth. "I even memorized it word for word because of how many times I've read it."

Hitsugaya slowly moved his barely open eyes and stared into the eyes of **his **vice captain, Rangiku-chan.

"_Rangiku-chan, you're the ripple that awakens me when I'm asleep on the riverbed. Each step you make is that of the sound of when a leaf gently falls into a body of water. Your sun bathed hair is rich in the scent of yellow roses that grow amongst a lake of ice. Your lips are the source that melts the ice that my ban kai releases. They're what I see each time you call my name. Just once would I love to see them say 'Hitsugaya-kun' or 'Toushirou-kun'. My face turns red when you kneel down to look me in the eye and my weak eyes wander from your deep blue spheres to your magnificent breasts. The few times I felt your skin against mine were like nothing I've felt before in Soul Society or the human world. Just once, Rangiku-chan, would I like to know if you think of me as something other than your superior and captain._"

Hitsugaya wanted so badly to talk to her about the letter right then and there but his body wouldn't let him, especially not after a long day of reading and writing. His eyes gave up from staying open and slammed shut. The last thing he saw was Matsumoto's face nearing his own.

Matsumoto held the side his face with her other free hand and slowly tangled her fingers into his silver hair. She gently pressed her lips against the boy genius' forehead as he began to drift off to sleep. She laid her own forehead against his and playfully nudged his nose with her own. "Sleep well…" she whispered as pressed her lips against his forehead once more. "…Toushirou-kun."

She made sure the boy was fast asleep as she playfully poked him in his ribs. Wrapping the ends of her pink scarf around his neck she massaged her knees and stood to her feet. She walked over to her desk and slid into her all too comfortable chair and placed the small amount of paperwork at the center. 'He's so cute when he sleeps. That's the only time his face isn't so tense and refrained from expression.' Her thoughts were the only thing that she could hear in the tranquil space. Matsumoto opened her drawer to remove a pen and stared into it for a while. Her eyes were focused on a blue sheet of paper that had a few wrinkles still left in it despite the attempts to smooth them out entirely. Smiling she closed the drawer as she grabbed a pen and gave Hitsugaya one last glance before attending to her work. "We'll speak later…if you want to talk about it Toushirou-kun."

**A/N:** There you have it. My first Bleach fic and pairing. Personally I just like both Hitsugaya and Matsumoto as a team and so I thought I'd try to come up with my own version of how they interact. I tried not to make them seem too out of character. Hope you enjoyed it.


	2. Memories and Revelations

Disclaimer: Yeah you know what goes here. 

Oh yeah there's still no spoilers yet.

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**  
Papercuts and the Sunflower**

**Chapter Two: Memories and Revelations**

The only source of light in the dimly lit room was the small lamp that stood on her desk. Matsumoto had _much_ longer than she had anticipated on the leftover work she was given. She shook her head as she looked at the time on the little clock that lay beneath the lamp. As she was finishing the last document she breathed an irritated sigh, blowing away a strand of hair that fell across her right eye as she cupped her chin. _'This is such a bother,'_ she thought as she felt her eyes getting numb from focusing on the small print for so long. _'I honestly don't know how Toushirou-kun is able to do this day in and day out.'_

Crossing the last of her t's and dotting the remaining i's she threw the last of the paperwork into her outbox. She placed her elbows on the desk and held both sides of her head, massaging her throbbing temples. 'That was annoying,' she thought, closing her eyes. _'Maybe I should ask how Toushirou-kun how he does it.'_ The blonde heard a slight rustling in front of her and slowly opened her eyes. Her captain had shifted in his sleep and onto his stomach, his hand almost touching the floor as it held onto the scarf that she had wrapped around him. Matsumoto chuckled as she sat back against her chair. _'My goodness…he's still sleeping?'_ He moved again only this time flipping over to his back once more. _'He really must be completely drained.'_ Matsumoto began to nibble on her pen as she recalled her words just a little over three hours ago. She wasn't at all sure if she chose the best time to bring up such an emotionally involved situation just as her captain was falling into a deep sleep. After all, Hitsugaya was unable to respond to her words and actions. Then again, however, he was able to see her beautiful smile before he plunged into dreamland. That was something Matsumoto was unaware he wanted to experience at least once in his lifetime.

Glancing at the clock again she pitched up suddenly, throwing her pen on the desk. "It's getting rather late." She arranged her desk the best way she could and flicked off her lamp. She grabbed her soul cutter that was lying against the desk and attached it to her side. Looking softly at the sleeping captain in the couch she quietly walked over and stood over him, gazing admirably upon him.

"Well since you won't wake up I'll just have to carry you little taichou," Matsumoto said softly to the sleeping Hitsugaya. After grabbing his soul cutter and placing it on her other free side she reached down and guided her arms under this legs and his back and carefully lifted him up. _'Hmm. He's surprisingly lighter than I expected,'_ she quickly thought to herself. Heading through the door she closed it with her foot and headed along the hallway.

Matsumoto cradled Hitsugaya's head against her chest as she slowly strolled along the path. The night was silent and few people were walking around. Usually only a few unseated officers would be out during this time patrolling and inspecting the grounds. Matsumoto just wanted their walk to be uninterrupted. She didn't want to run into any captains or vice-captains tonight, especially a select few. This was because she didn't have the strength to attempt to explain why she was carrying her captain in her arms.

"Damn," she whispered as she looked ahead of her sighing. "Luck really has its limits I guess." Leaning over a rail just a few fit away from her and the sleeping Hitsugaya was Renji, vice-captain of the 6th Division. He wasn't in his regular shinigami attire, however, but he wore his favorite white and fuchsia robe with his awkwardly positioned headband. _'Guess no there's no avoiding it.'_ Matsumoto sighed once more as she neared the red-haired vice-captain.

Renji blinked as he heard footsteps passing by and straightened up his stance to identify who they belonged to. "Eh?" He raised an eyebrow, realizing who it was. "R-Rangiku-san?" He looked at Hitsugaya who still lay asleep in Matsumoto's arms. "It's strange to see you out this time of night."

"There was some work that needed to be finished," she replied throwing her lazy eyes in his direction. "That's all."

"Oh," he answered looking to his side. Renji once more looked at Hitsugaya sleeping and then at Matsumoto while keeping his eyebrow arched. "Uh…Rangiku-san?"

"Hmm?" she replied as she took her eyes off of her sleeping captain who had just moved, snuggling against her chest even more.

"Ano…why are you carrying around the kid taichou?"

She closed her eyes as she knew that such a question was certain to be asked. "Isn't it obvious?" She opened her eyes and looked into the night sky. "He's asleep."

"Yeah I can see that…" Renji started as he tilted his head slightly. "…but couldn't you have just woken him up?"

Matsumoto paused as she thought carefully of her answer. "No that would be cruel of me Abarai-san." She thought of all the times she fell asleep in his presence and never woke her, even if there was a meeting he managed to cover for her absence. "Besides, he's had a rough and long day. He needs every wink of sleep."

Renji noted how her eyes didn't look into his own. However, that was natural of her and was not a good way to determine if she was lying or not. All he knew was that she was holding him close…a little too close for a regular captain and vice-captain relationship. "I suppose you're right." He shrugged as she placed his arms inside his robe and smirked. "Even a kid genius in the end has the stamina of a regular kid."

Matsumoto glared lazily at Renji. Though not intense it was definitely enough to wipe the smirk off of his face. He swallowed hard as she began walking away in her slow pace. "Good night, Abarai-san."

Matsumoto paid no mind to Renji's footsteps as he headed into his room that was nearby. She breathed a sigh of relief though as she realized that their destination was just around the corner of the path. She quickened her pace a bit as she didn't want any more stops from her colleagues, that including a certain 5th Division vice-captain.

Matsumoto turned the corner and was relieved that no one was walking along it. Arriving at Hitsugaya's room she slid the door open with her foot and then closed it using the same method. She scanned the dark room and freed one of her hands temporarily to switch on a light. Looking over the room once more she opened her eyes wider than usual. "So clean for a guy his age," she said to herself as she smiled. Walking over to the bed in the corner of the room she gently rested Hitsugaya down onto one of his pillows. Sitting on the edge of his bed, she adjusted her scarf around his neck evening it out and placed her hand on his slowly rising chest. "You're such a cutie when you're asleep," she whispered into his ear.

Straightening her posture she glanced over the room again. She had only been inside his room a few times before and was taking in everything. Almost every other time he had to stop at his room she would wait outside at his request, never knowing why he didn't invite her in.

Her eyes stopped on a cabinet that near his desk and the light she had turned on. _'I wonder what's in there,'_ she thought. She raised herself off of the mattress and strolled over to the object in question. Hesitating slightly she placed her hands on the handles. _'It's probably filled with the dozens of books he loves to read.'_ She opened both doors of the cabinet and gasped softly as she took a step back.

Her hand covered her mouth as she looked all over the inside of the cabinet. Before her were a number of pictures. Pictures of herself and her captain. She reached out for one of them and brought it closer to her face. The picture showed herself waving at the camera with a smile and placing a hand on Hitsugaya's shoulder as he folded his arms and looked off to the side, looking uninterested as usual. "I thought he threw this into his drawer," she said softly looking up and at a few more pictures. She grabbed another one. This one depicted her grabbing him from behind around the waist as she knelt, pressing her cheek against his. He seemed dazed in this picture as he wore a Christmas hat that matched Matsumoto's. She took up another picture frame and smiled. "This one was from the surprise birthday party I arranged." In the picture it showed Hitsugaya walking into the room with his eyes widened at all the people Matsumoto got to attend his party. Another picture that accompanied this one depicted him blowing out the candles of his cake as Matsumoto had her hands resting on his shoulders. The last in the series of birthday pictures she looked at showed Hitsugaya giving her the first slice of cake that he cut. "Now that surprised me…"

As she put away all the picture frames she had moved her eyes came to rest on the largest portrait there. It hung in the center of the cabinet and prompted her to place her hands over her heart. "Aww…" she managed to breathe feeling a bit foggy eyed. The large portrait in question was of her. She had her trademark pose which involved her placing her hands onto her waist and tilting her head slightly which allowed a few strands of her golden hair to fall across her face and highlighted the beauty mark beside her lips.

Taking one last look at the archive of memories she quietly closed the cabinet doors and pressed her back against it. She looked over at the sleeping taichou and smiled. _'And he so tries to make everyone believe that he throws such things away out of lack of interest.'_

Matsumoto wondered over to his desk and fiddled around with some of the papers that were spread across it. _'He must've been in a rush this morning.' _Amidst her fiddling a single sheet of paper fell to the ground at her feet. She kneeled to pick it up and glanced at what was on it. She looked over at Hitsugaya still in slumber as she threw a hand over her mouth and sat in the chair behind her. _'Oh I really shouldn't be reading this.'_ Matsumoto went over what appeared to be a letter before deciding it was already too late. _'Might as well.'_

_Well now how do I start this?_

_Dearest Rangiku-chan,_

_I don't know if you're ever going to be reading this but I'm still going to write. I was doing the weekly reports and couldn't think straight. So I'm writing this letter. Oh, I didn't say why yet did I? Well I think it'll all add up in the end._

_Have you ever been thinking of someone so much that they're in your mind almost every waking moment? Well for the longest time that's what has been happening to me (I pay for it each time I'm called to the General Captain's office too)._

"Ah so that's why we have to visit Captain Yamamoto almost every other day," Matsumoto whispered to herself.

_If you haven't figured it out by now (I hope you're still awake and not sleeping on the couch) these thoughts I've been having are of you. They only get worse (by that I mean better) when I'm near you. I know this might sound silly, but I started feeling this way right after you became my vice-captain. It was during the time I had realized that Hinamori was basically a lost cause as she had taken a great liking to Captain Aizen (you already know about all the stuff with her when you constantly asked if she was my girlfriend)._

Matsumoto giggled as she brushed her hair back out of her eyesight.

_I instantly developed a crush on you when you first walked into the office and introduced yourself (Yes kid genius Hitsugaya actually jumped head first into a field of emotions without first looking to see where I was going to land). Oh, I hope I didn't give a bad impression of myself during our first meeting (You remember how I waved you off to your desk and got you to work immediately). But it's just that…I didn't want to see you smiling because then I would've been forced to smile in front of you (I don't know why I didn't want to, I guess it's because I didn't want you to think I was just some other little kid who moved up the ranks through favors). So I'm sorry if I haven't been the best captain I could towards you._

"Oh but you have been," Matsumoto replied as she looked over to the author of the letter.

_But really I can't blame anyone for these feelings I'm having but myself. I know that you probably get this from everyone but you are truly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen within all of Soul Society (Yes I know it's corny). But by now I'm guessing you're wondering why I haven't told you about these feelings yet have you?_

"Correct my little taichou."

_Well I was…afraid of how you would respond. I tend to over think situations but all the thoughts I had were what kept me holding back from you. First I thought of our age difference. It seemed like those situations were a student is in love with his teacher (Yeah that's an overused example). I thought you would've seen me as a cute little kid who was just admiring your beauty and that it would fade away with time. Then there's the size difference. I was embarrassed that you'd be disappointed in my lack of height or that you'd be embarrassed being seen walking around with me (Assuming we were together anyway). But I guess the biggest fear was the thought of rejection._

"You sound so cute when you're worried." Matsumoto folded the letter slightly as she focused her eyes on what seemed to be the last part.

_But that's why I'm writing this I guess. I just wanted to tell someone, even if it is just this sheet of paper. These past few years although in reality is such little time seemed to last forever. Rangiku-chan (Why don't I ever say that to you) that is that…I love you. There, I finally said it. I, Hitsugaya Toushirou Captain of the 10th Division, am in love with his vice-captain (and friend) Matsumoto Rangiku-chan, the first and only perfect woman he has ever laid his eyes upon._

"Awwww." Matsumoto stretched as she held her heart from above her chest. She hurriedly looked over the last bit.

_Well I've let out as much as I can tonight (I hope I did). I don't even know if you're even going to see this (After all it doesn't seem all that romantic). But if this isn't somehow lost among all the other papers I have cluttered on this desk and it ends up in your hands then I must really be more brave than I thought myself to be (That or you came in and stole it). Anyways, I'm getting really sleepy right now (I hope you're prepared to do a lot of paper work tomorrow). So I'm going to bed. I hope you always sleep well too…Rangiku-chan._

_Hitsu…no. Your Toushirou-kun._

Matsumoto didn't notice that her eyes were more cloudy than she expected them to be. She stuttered her only two words she could think of at the moment. "O-Oh my." Pressing the letter against her chest she continued her stammer. "Oh my, oh my."

Getting up from her chair she folded the letter and placed it in a pocket on the inside of her robe. She walked over to the bed were Hitsugaya still slept peacefully. The thought of all those loving words coming from such an adorable sight overwhelmed her completely. Going against her 'better' judgment Matsumoto suddenly jumped into the bed, pouncing onto the snoring captain. The jolt was enough to jerk him awake. However, he smashed his head against what he thought was someone holding pillows in the air. He fell back onto his pillow below him and failed to notice the entity that had now slid beside him. Hitsugaya was too busy rubbing his eyes and shaking the strangely sweet scent of the 'pillows' away.

"What the hell is going on?" He stammered as he adjusted his eyes to the poorly lit room. He looked over to his left and saw that he was in his room. "Eh? How'd I get here?" Looking over to his desk he noticed his papers arranged neatly. He was puzzled but gave it no more thought as he flopped back down unto the mattress. Hitsugaya looked down and realized he was wearing a pink scarf around his neck that kept him warm. "I guess it was Matsumoto who carried me here…"

His body almost shuddered when he felt gentle arms embrace him around the waist. They pulled him closer until he was snuggled softly against the body of the owner. Again he felt those pillows against his back. Slowly, he turned to identify the person that had invaded his room. His eyes widened as he realized who it was, "Matsumoto!" She smiled at his shocked reaction to her presence.

"What are you doing here? Why are you in my bed?" He stammered, not able to, nor wanting to escape her embrace. He calmed himself down as a thought entered his mind. "Oh no. It's this dream again."

"What dream?" Matsumoto whispered in a sultry tone. She kissed him on the cheek and pressed his head against her breasts as she laid her head on his. Finally Hitsugaya realized what those 'pillows' he crashed into earlier actually were as he grew beet red. "This is all real Shirou-kun." With that she leaned over him as he pulled back his head to see her and placed a soft kiss onto his lips.

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**A/N: **There ya go I actually decided to make this a three-parter. This was done a while ago but I was just waiting until I was fully ready (don't ask why). I hope you all like this chapter and its ending (you gotta love cliffhangers). Expect the last chapter soon, punctuating the Hitsugaya and Matsumoto goodness. At least for this fanfic. :P  



	3. Our Love

_Just a few notes/definitions:_

Taichou Captain  
Oi Hey  
Rukongai One of the two parts of Soul Society

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**Papercuts and the Sunflower**

**Chapter Three: Our Love**

Emerald-green orbs remained focused on the woman before them. Blinking was rapid after a realization had hit the silver-haired taichou; Matsumoto was lying beside him…inside _his _bed. However as was his nature, he still wasn't completely convinced that this wasn't a dream. Trying desperately to make sense of what was going on he tilted his head slightly and scratched his head in confusion as his thoughts were interrupted by his vice-captain's soft voice.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" Matsumoto waved a hand slowly in front of his face, tapping him on the nose to finally get his full attention. "You're not that stunned are you, Shirou-kun?"

'_Shirou-kun,'_ he thought as he raised an eyebrow. _'She called me that again.'_ At first Hitsugaya had thought he was hearing things, but was sure after the second time that she was calling him that name he had wanted to escape her lips. Not trying to delude himself any longer that this situation was all in his mind, Hitsugaya shook his head and placed his usual scowl on his face as he planted his hands on the mattress to hold up his body. Not exactly the way he wanted to begin his part of the conversation. "Matsumoto…what are you doing here?" Not exactly the words he wanted to say either.

Matsumoto blinked slightly, a small smile began to grow wide on her lips. _'As expected, he always puts his guard up in these kinds of close situations,'_ she thought while adjusting a part of her uniform. "Well…you fell asleep. You've been out for at least three hours."

"Hmmm." He nodded, looking at Matsumoto out of the corner of his eyes. "That still doesn't explain why you're here and in _my _bed." He could've sworn that he felt himself almost wince because he couldn't say a simple 'thank you' to her for carrying him all the way to his room.

Sighing softly, Matsumoto fell back on to one of his pillows and placed her arms under her head. _'He can be so difficult at times.'_ She smiled once more as she closed her eyes. "I was bored and thought that I'd stay here until you woke up."

That definitely wasn't an answer he had expected to hear but that did not throw him off of his guard. "I've never heard something as ridiculous as that come from you."

Her features softened as she stared up at the ceiling. "To be honest," she paused to bite her down on her bottom lip. "I didn't feel like being alone tonight."

Hitsugaya remained silent, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes in thought of what to say next.

"You seem nervous, Shirou-kun." Matsumoto voiced her concern for his silence.

"Oi, Matsumoto," he breathed out once more as he looked over his shoulder. "I'm your superior, y'know. You should be calling me Taichou."

Smiling slightly, Matsumoto turned her head towards. "You're absolutely correct," she paused and tugged lightly on his sleeve. "But…is that what you want?"

His thoughts were running wild, which wasn't a normal thing for him to experience. _'What is she saying? Could she have…?'_ His eyes wandered over to his desk, locating the letter he mistakenly left out in the open. Shaking off his folly a quick response came to him, "What are you talking about?"

Matsumoto sat up against the head of the bed and slowly edged her way towards his side. "Y'know…" She whispered near his ear. "…you don't always have to be so guarded."

Hitsugaya could only close his eyes at the feel of her breath grazing his neck. His eyes wandered over to one of the lamps along the walls in an attempt to hide his reddening cheeks. "Matsu-"

The blonde placed a finger over his lips to cease his words. "You can call me the name you want to." She closed her eyes and wore an assuring smile. "Really, I don't mind."

"You don't know what you're saying aren't you?" He asked, still not looking in her direction.

She placed her hand on his knee, feeling his body immediately tense under her simple touch. "I read it."

His eyes finally shifted off of the lamp and found their way into hers. "What?"

"I read your letter." Her voice was soft and gentle. "I'm sorry."

Now he was sure that she had seen it. He wanted to slap himself for even writing it now. It wasn't that he didn't mean each word he had written but he was just…afraid. Afraid of what she might say, and only slightly concerned about what others might say if they ever found out. He slowly stood to his feet and folded his arms. "Does anyone else know?"

She blinked in confusion of the question. "Know what?"

"About the letter," he replied as he kept his back turned to her. "That I…"

Matsumoto placed her hands on her knees as she looked at the short yet strong young man before her. _'I really don't want him to fight so hard to keep all those feelings inside.'_ She blinked to refocus her attention on to Hitsugaya as she replied, "Of course not. I would never betray my taichou."

Hitsugaya walked over to the desk and picked up the sheet of paper. He wasn't sure why he was even trying to hide his feelings even after it was blatantly obvious that she knew about them. He cursed himself for being so stubborn and stuck in his ways of keeping people out. But now he was trying his best to pry open what most thought to be an invincible dam that guarded his feelings and his heart. "Rangiku-chan…"

Matsumoto's eyes brightened at the sound of her name finally escaping from his lips. She had only seen it written by his hands so far but to hear it was a delight to her ears. She smiled, knowing full well that he was trying his best to speak freely without interference from his usual behavior. "Yes, Shirou-kun?"

The way his name rolled off of her tongue actually warmed his heart. Normally he'd glare and scold anyone that referred to him so casually, but right now he'd make an exception. An exception that he'd only give to her…his vice-captain.

"I meant it," he finished his delayed sentence.

Matsumoto tilted her head, wanting to look fully at his face. "Hmmm?"

Hitsugaya folded the paper and placed it on the desk, fastening his hands onto the chair in front of him. "I meant every word."

"I know," she replied in an assuring tone. Matsumoto rose up from the bed and smoothed out a few wrinkles in her clothing. "I know you did."

She walked over to his side and placed her hands on his shoulders. His body tensed almost immediately once more. The silver-haired taichou wasn't used to such close body contact after all. "Can you tell me how long?"

He shifted his head to the side. "How long...?"

"How long have you felt this way about me?"

"Oh…" Hitsugaya paused, turning his head back towards the mirror in front of them. "…a little after you became my vice-captain."

"Oh? Is that so?" She replied as her hands slid down his shoulders, forming a gentle embrace.

He nodded as he continued. "At first I wondered what they were thinking assigning the two of us together. I thought you were going to be another one of those adults who looked down on me because of my height and my age."

Matsumoto listened carefully to his every word, not wanting to interrupt him as she mentally encouraged him to continue.

"Up until then I…I never saw anyone as beautiful as you are. Rukongai didn't really have anyone that stood out, so it came as a surprise to me to see someone that was so gorgeous. But I never thought of telling you because it wasn't something I was used to doing. I still had it in my mind that they assigned you as my vice-captain to simply baby-sit me, but I was proven wrong after seeing just how strong you were and how you respected me without question of what I did. That and the fact that I was the one who did the baby-sitting."

"That's not a nice thing to say," Matsumoto pouted and shook him gently as a smile quickly found its way on both of their lips.

Hitsugaya laughed and smiled at her actions. He never thought it was feel so good to be able to express himself so openly. "However, the major reasons I didn't ever dare to tell you was because I thought you'd put off my feelings as a simple crush…or that my hormones were simply raging because I was still a kid."

"It must've been hard for you too to hold in all those emotions, Shirou-kun." Matsumoto echoed against his ear as she cuddled closer to him.

"Me…too?" He questioned out of confusion.

She ran her fingers through his silver strands as she took in a deep breath. "Of course. I couldn't help but admiring my cute little taichou." She pinched his cheeks, causing him to pull away while rolling his eyes. "Honestly, I've always thought of you as more than just my taichou. My loyalty to you wasn't just out of duty as your vice-captain but as someone I cared about deeply over all of these long years."

Hitsugaya turned in her embrace, almost hitting his head into her large chest as he looked up into her blue orbs as his ears almost couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"I always knew that you had feelings for me Shirou-kun." She smiled brightly down at him. "After all, what other taichou just lets his subordinate sleep for hours on the office couch and take on all of the paperwork assigned to the division all by himself?"

A grin appeared on his face at her words. "A crazy one I think."

"I'd say a love-stricken young taichou," she replied as she tapped a finger on his nose.

He went silent after a few minutes of laughing, thinking of something he forgot to mention.

"Is something the matter Shirou-kun?"

"Well…" He paused to properly form the words. "…it's just that…what about the others?"

"Oh them? I think a time will come when we can tell them." She replied as she led him over to sit back down on the mattress. "Besides who cares about what they think?"

He nodded in agreement with his usual scowl. However it faded as her words finally registered. "Wait…you mean you…?"

Matsumoto threw her arm around his shoulders, pulling him right under her body. "Of course."

He was slightly confused. "Of course?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. "It means that Shirou-kun is officially my b-o-y-f-r-i-e-n-d."

He raised an eyebrow with an almost stunned expression present on his face. "O-Oh. You don't waste any time do you?"

"We both have already wasted enough time." Her eyes wandered over to the cabinet she was looking at earlier. "Too bad you can't brag about how I'm your girlfriend now."

He looked up at her sly smile and laughed. "Oi, I don't care about those kinds of things." He managed to wrap an arm around her waist, trying his best to get used to such intimate situations. "As long as I know I really don't care."

"That's good to hear. As usual my taichou has wise words." She teased as she tried to tickle him. He attempted to wiggle out of her grip but failed as she tightened it. "Too bad we don't have a camera right now."

"A camera?" He asked. "What for?"

"To add to _our_ memories silly." She pointed over to the large cabinet.

He shook his head slightly. "Figures you looked inside there while I was asleep. You need to put that amount of effort into doing your paperwork."

"Don't you dare talk about paperwork right now." She quickly scolded him with a large smile. "Besides I finished the ones you gave me."

"You mean the four out of the total of sixty?" He folded his arms across his chest, looking at her with narrowed eyes.

"Oh just shut up and come here." Matsumoto wrapped her arms him, bringing their faces dangerously close together.

"W-Whoa…R-Rangiku-chan…what are you doing?" He stammered, getting almost completely lost into her deep blue eyes.

"Our paperwork of course," she smiled as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his gently, feeling him now kissing back as well. Pulling back for a moment to look at Hitsugaya in his dazed state she planted yet another soft kiss onto his lips before letting him go and taking his hand into hers.

"I suppose now we should be going to bed," Matsumoto replied as she slid off her shoes.

"Eh?" He raised an eyebrow after looking at her feet pushing away the footwear. "What?"

"Well it's too late for me to be walking around alone at night." Matsumoto breathed as she threw herself backward onto the bed, climbing on the other side and resting her head on the pillow. "So I'll sleep here for tonight."

"A-Are you sure?" Hitsugaya asked wide-eyed.

"Don't worry." She patted the side of the mattress beside her. "No one will see us leaving in the morning alright? Now come and get your rest."

Hitsugaya sighed deeply, adjusting the pink scarf around his neck. He quickly climbed into the bed after shutting off lights and settled beside Matsumoto. He faced the door as he fluffed his pillow, feeling a little uneasy as he finally settled down. A moment later he felt Matsumoto moving closer under him and almost jumped up as he felt her arms wrap around his waist, pulling him up under her body. A few minutes passed before he broke the silence. "R-Rangiku-chan…?"

"I was getting cold," Matsumoto whispered behind him. "But I'm warm now."

"Oh." He closed his eyes and tried his best to fade away to sleep. Feeling her nuzzle against him one last time before finally drifting away he whispered, "I love you…Rangiku-chan."

Matsumoto moaned softly as she too was about to fall asleep. "I love you too, Shirou-kun."

The room fell almost completely silent, the only barely audible sound coming from the wind blowing through the slightly opened windows. That night, two people who finally were able to confess to each other their feelings slept peacefully in each others arms. Both captain and vice-captain, male and female, young man and young woman, were able to enjoy this night alone without the worries of their endless paperwork in the office or the concern of others finding out about their newfound relationship. Indeed tomorrow, and many a time thereafter, will bring yet another day of the young silver-haired taichou laboring over paperwork while his vice-captain…his sunflower sleeps peacefully before him. This time, however, Hitsugaya can smile knowing that the sleeping angel in front of his desk loves him and Matsumoto can rest peacefully knowing that the young man that loves her is protecting and watching her lovingly.

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**A/N:** There you go the third and final chapter of Papercuts and the Sunflower. Thanks for all the reviews so far and I apologize for being so late but you know what they say 'better late than never'. :P 


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